Adult Education (ADLT)

ADLT 300. Introduction to Human and Organizational Development. 3 Hours.

Semester course; 3 lecture hours (delivered online, face-to-face or hybrid). 3 credits. This course is designed to provide students with an overview of the basic theories and concepts of organizational development and human resource development. Students will explore core aspects of the field of HRD including its foundations, basic theories, mission and goals, areas of emphasis, and issues and trends in the field. Students will also explore the definition and history of OD, fundamental theories, and the key steps of the OD process.

ADLT 301. Adult Learning Theory and Practice. 3 Hours.

Semester course; 3 lecture hours (delivered online, face-to-face or hybrid). 3 credits. This course provides an overview of learning and development in adulthood, beginning with the historical development of the field and its philosophical underpinnings. Concepts, models, theories and research in the field of adult learning will be addressed, with an emphasis on practical application of adult learning principles. The psychological and social aspects of adult learning are also addressed, as well as the effects of age on learning and motivations for learning.

ADLT 302. Basics of Instructional Design for Adult Learners. 3 Hours.

Semester course; 3 lecture hours (delivered online, face-to-face or hybrid). 3 credits. Instructional design has been described as the process used to design, implement and evaluate learning solutions for adults. This course provides an overview of the instructional design process, including how to assess the needs of an organization, build a learning product that relates to the identified needs and how to evaluate how well the learning solution addresses those needs. Modern instructional design models and frameworks will be discussed, with an emphasis on practical application. This course will be especially helpful for those that work, or plan to work, to support and improve the learning in their organizations.

ADLT 303. Facilitation Skills for Human and Organizational Development. 2 Hours.

Semester course; 2 lecture hours (delivered online, face-to-face or hybrid). 2 credits. This course provides an overview of the knowledge and skills necessary to facilitate and deliver professional presentations and group meetings in various settings. Participants will learn the basics of workshop and group facilitation, including how to plan for the session and how to select appropriate support materials. Participants will also identify effective methods for the facilitation of workshops, in-person meetings and virtual meetings. Instruction will involve dynamic group exercises, experiential role-plays and mini lectures, with a key emphasis on practicing and experiencing facilitation in a variety of settings.

ADLT 304. Designing Online Learning for Adult Learners. 3 Hours.

Semester course; 3 lecture hours (delivered online, face-to-face or hybrid). 3 credits. Learning in an online environment is different when compared to learning in a face-to-face classroom environment. Online education can pose a variety of special challenges for both the students and the instructors, but it can also provide completely different opportunities to engage, collaborate and learn. This course is designed to provide an overview of how to design instruction for the unique needs of adult online learners. Participants will examine online teaching strategies and instructional design practices, as well as discover methods that can lead to online learning success, while developing an appreciation for how adult learning theory can inform effective online instruction.

ADLT 305. Technology for Learning and Development. 3 Hours.

Semester course; 3 lecture hours (delivered in hybrid format). 3 credits. Technology, both current and future, is the backbone for creating online learning. This course examines tools that structure and support online learning and instructional design with particular emphasis on the unique affordances and challenges of each tool, including tools used for producing, delivering and supporting online/hybrid learning and technology-enhanced learning. This course will be especially helpful for those who work, or plan to work, to support and improve the learning in their organizations through developing online learning solutions.

ADLT 400. Developing Intercultural Competencies in the Workplace: Diversity, Inclusion and Equity. 3 Hours.

Semester course; 3 lecture hours (delivered online, face-to-face or hybrid). 3 credits. This course is designed to explore the intersection of personal and professional identity as it relates to workplace culture, climate and working relationships. Ultimately, it seeks to aid in the development and understanding of concepts and theories that underpin people relations in professional spaces. Throughout the course students are exposed to various theories and frameworks that situate social identity within larger social structures using the lens of sociological and psychological constructs. In an effort to enhance this understanding, students can expect to explore concepts and theories such as cultural competence, feedback, social cognitive career theory, organizational culture and social identity theory. Additionally, students will begin to contextualize prejudice and oppression and consider how they have operated historically in the workplace and continue to manifest within various social systems. The course intentionally focuses on issues of diversity, inclusion, cultural competence and equity. It is designed to prepare students to be knowledgeable of biases based on social identities (race, ethnicity, culture, religion, age, sex, sexual orientation, social and economic status, political ideology, ability status, etc.) and how each of these contributes to experiences in the workplace.

ADLT 401. Organizational Development and Change. 3 Hours.

Semester course; 3 lecture hours (delivered online, face-to-face or hybrid). 3 credits. This course offers a practical and realistic approach to the study of organizational development from the standpoint of its relationship to an overall program of change. While it introduces theoretical and historical foundations of the field, it uses a conceptual framework for understanding the relevant issues in OD coupled with an experiential learning approach which focuses on the development of interpersonal skills that can be applied to life and future job situations. Students will be able to readily experience OD through the use of concepts, theories, illustrations and company examples that show how OD is applied. By engaging in this deeper involvement in the learning process, a lasting impact and/or meaning should be produced, which will result in improved skill and performance.

ADLT 404. Team Learning and Development. 3 Hours.

Semester course; 3 lecture hours (delivered online, face-to-face or hybrid). 3 credits. This course will explore basic issues and dilemmas fundamental to all groups, such as leadership, mission, goals, group member roles, stages of group development and issues in team performance. The course provides opportunities for learners to examine personal roles and contributions to groups through team assignments. Through an examination of group theory, models and practices, students will explore the nature of intragroup and intergroup behavior, along with the often unconscious processes that occur in the group-as-a-whole.

ADLT 405. Project Management in Learning and Development. 3 Hours.

Semester course; 3 lecture hours (delivered online, face-to-face or hybrid). 3 credits. This course focuses on a holistic and realistic sociotechnical view of project management, meaning that it encompasses both the technical and sociocultural dimensions of project management and how they interact to determine the fate of projects. It is framed through the lens of application for the learning and development field where emphasis is not only on how the management process works, but also on why it works. Throughout this course, students will learn practical techniques for rolling out performance improvement solutions through learning and development that solve a business problem. This course will also give a comprehensive and integrative understanding of the project management process which will be useful for those at any level of an organization assigned to work on projects.

ADLT 406. Consulting Skills in Adult Learning Environments. 3 Hours.

Semester course; 3 lecture hours (delivered online, face-to-face or hybrid). 3 credits. This course is an introduction to the concepts, methods and skills required for effective process consultation, or helping, in a variety of adult learning environments including for-profit and nonprofit organizations, higher education, government and other community-based settings in which the adult educator is attempting to effect change. As such, this is a course in developing influencing skills. Implicit in the process consultation model is the assumption that all organizational problems are problems involving human interactions. No matter what technical, financial or structural problems are involved, humans are always involved in managing and implementing the solutions proposed for change strategies. Therefore, understanding human processes and the necessary requirements for change to occur are essential aspects of consulting.

ADLT 407. Culture and Instructional Design. 3 Hours.

Semester course; 3 lecture hours (delivered in hybrid format). 3 credits. This course is intended to enhance knowledge and skills in the design and delivery of e-learning content for the increasingly diverse population of adult learners within the context of current global, national and regional current events. E-learning content includes hybrid, or blended, learning, online courses and learning modules, and face-to-face courses that integrate technology. Creation of successful e-learning requires skills beyond the integration of technologies, such as digital audio and/or video, animation, social networking tools, virtual worlds, screen capture software, digital images, collaborative document editing, as well as linked content. Successful e-learning in the 21st century demands an understanding of the context in which the designer works, including considerations of current events, diversity and inclusion, and an understanding of trends in emerging technologies. This course provides a survey of these trends and the understanding of instructional design methodologies within this context.

ADLT 490. Internship in Human and Organizational Development. 3 Hours.

Semester course; 3 field experience hours. 3 credits. Enrollment is restricted to students who have completed a minimum of 21 hours of 300-level ADLT courses course work from the B.A. in Human and Organizational Development core and with approval of the adviser. This course should be taken during the senior year of the program, or after 21 hours of study within the major, to ensure students have the background and experience to be successful during the internship. This program is designed to offer experiential learning activities in an off-campus environment. Ideal activities for an internship experience provide the student with an opportunity to explore human resource development career interests, while making lived connections between academic theory and practical application in a work environment. Proposed internship activities must first be discussed and approved by the academic adviser, and then completed under the guidance of an on-site supervisor and the faculty sponsor of this course. A minimum of 125 clock hours of learning activities are required.

ADLT 601. Adult Learning and Development. 3 Hours.

Semester course; 3 lecture hours. 3 credits. An examination of the research findings from the applied behavioral sciences that affect adult learning throughout the lifespan, including psychological, social and physical attributes of adults as learners. Explores the philosophical and theoretical foundations of the field, including schools of thought and associated theorists. Emphasis on the effects of age on learning, the importance of self-image and factors affecting adult motivation for learning. Addresses different learning styles, application of adult learning theories to practice and the relationship of adult learning to adult development.

ADLT 606. Design and Delivery of Adult Learning Programs. 3 Hours.

Semester course; 3 lecture hours. 3 credits. Provides a comprehensive understanding of the design, development and delivery process necessary to create a program, course or workshop for adult learners. Emphasis is on actual design of an adult learning experience from initial stages of needs assessment to concluding evaluation and assessment of effectiveness, including development of instructional strategies and methods for delivery.

ADLT 610. Consulting Skills In Adult Learning Environments. 3 Hours.

Semester course; 3 lecture hours. 3 credits. An introduction to the consultation skills necessary to effect change when the educator is in a position of influence, rather than direct control or management responsibility. Presents historical and theoretical models of change, facilitation skills necessary for introducing and sustaining change, strategies for dealing with resistance, and ethical issues involved in consultation. Students gain practical experience by conducting an intervention as the major project assignment in the course.

ADLT 612. Learning in Groups and Teams. 3 Hours.

Semester course; 3 lecture hours. 3 credits. Explores fundamentals of learning in groups and teams, including effects of leadership, group member roles and processes, performance, development, goals, and culture. Examines group theory, models and practices of collective learning. Addresses the situated nature of learning, effects of social context and the concepts inherent in sustaining communities of practice.

ADLT 620. Human Resource Development Overview. 3 Hours.

Semester course; 3 lecture hours. 3 credits. Provides an overview of the HRD field to include theories, practices and emerging concepts. Emphasis is on roles, functions and responsibilities of the HRD practitioner in supporting the strategies, mission and goals of the enterprise, whether public, private or nonprofit.

ADLT 623. Organizational Learning. 3 Hours.

Semester course; 3 lecture hours. 3 credits. Examines the theoretical basis for organizational learning and the practices inherent in developing a learning organization. Examines organizational culture and socialization; systems thinking; organizations as interpretative systems; the leader's role in creating, sustaining and changing culture; strategies for enhancing collective learning; distributed cognition; and strategies for knowledge management.

ADLT 625. Change Strategies for HRD Practitioners. 3 Hours.

Semester course; 3 lecture hours. 3 credits. Develops skills in change intervention strategies by employing the theoretical frameworks of organization development and organization transformation to address critical organizational issues and problems. Explores the HRD practitioner's role in facilitating organizational change through action research, action science, action learning and large-scale, whole-system interventions. Examines the differing roles and ethical issues for improving organizational effectiveness with special attention to organizational culture and a systems perspective of change.

ADLT 632. Understanding Social Foundations and Contemporary Issues in American Higher Education. 3 Hours.

Semester course; 3 lecture hours. 3 credits. Examines the purpose of higher education and whether this purpose has changed over time, exploring the reasons for change; studies how the academy is responding to social pressures; and explores scenarios for future change. Crosslisted as: EDUS 632.

ADLT 636. Capstone Seminar in Action Learning. 3 Hours.

Semester course; 3 lecture hours. 3 credits. Prerequisites: Restricted to students who have completed all other foundation and core courses or are taking this course in conjunction with the final specialty track courses in the M.Ed. in Adult Learning program; permission of adviser required. An integrative end-of-program course that utilizes skills and knowledge gained in all earlier courses, including philosophical and theoretical assumptions of adult learning and strategies for creating effective individual and collective learning environments. Students consult with a community-based, educational, nonprofit or for-profit organization using action learning methods of inquiry to solve a real organizational problem. Requires synthesis of knowledge and expertise in all aspects of adult learning and demonstrated proficiency in research and evaluation skills appropriate for the master's degree level. An end-of-semester presentation and consulting report are provided to the organization's leaders.

ADLT 640. Theory and Practice of eLearning and Digital Media in Adult Learning. 3 Hours.

Semester course; 3 lecture hours (delivered online or hybrid). 3 credits. Provides learners with a theoretical foundation and rationale for the successful integration of eLearning into formal and informal adult learning environments. This course begins with an overview of educational theory and social constructivist teaching philosophy before addressing the fundamental issues that instructional designers should consider when designing, delivering and assessing eLearning in adult learning environments. Students will also explore the use of digital media to enhance adult learning. Through hands-on experience with tools, examination of emerging media formats and the evaluation of course learning products, students will learn to create, critique and explore a variety of digital media to support learning in a variety of instructional contexts. Special emphasis will be placed on using digital technology tools to support communication, knowledge building and learning in both formal and informal adult learning settings.

ADLT 642. Design Challenges in Creating eLearning for Adults. 3 Hours.

Semester course; 3 lecture hours (delivered online or hybrid). 3 credits. Prerequisites: ADLT 640 and ADLT 643; or permission of instructor. Provides learners who have developed a deep understanding of the theoretical and philosophical underpinnings of instructional design in eLearning environments and a fluency in developing content using new freely available digital media tools through prerequisite courses. This course provides students with an opportunity to undertake a major project in online learning design.

ADLT 643. Advanced Instructional Design for Adult Learning. 3 Hours.

Semester course; 3 lecture hours (delivered online or hybrid). 3 credits. Prerequisite: ADLT 640. The focus of this course is to understand and explore how to enhance learning through online instruction. This class will focus on designing instruction for adult learners for online learning. Students will be introduced to a variety of instructional design models and other systems and tools they will encounter in the workplace. They will also have the opportunity to evaluate online learning activities and instructional designs to determine if they are effective for adult learning in the workplace. Additional focus will be on evaluating the effectiveness of online learning initiatives and creating evaluations.

ADLT 650. Adult Literacy and Diversity. 3 Hours.

Semester course; 3 lecture hours. 3 credits. Surveys the field of adult literacy and its many purposes, definitions, contexts and ideologies by exploring relationships between literacy and learning in numerous contexts, from corporate HRD programs to refugee communities. By applying analytical tools of critical theorists to raise awareness of the ideological nature of adult learning, and by examining contexts and foundations of adult literacy, the course takes up epistemological, ethical and instructional issues that relate to all aspects of adult learning.

ADLT 670. Curriculum Design in Health Professions Education. 3 Hours.

Semester course; 3 lecture hours (delivered online, face-to-face or hybrid). 3 credits. Enrollment is restricted to faculty teaching in medicine and health care professions. Introduces adult learning principles and practices for the design and assessment of courses, units and individual lessons within a health professions education curriculum in both preclinical and clinical settings.

ADLT 671. Theory and Practice of Adult Learning for Health Professions Educators. 3 Hours.

Semester course; 3 lecture hours (delivered online, face-to-face or hybrid). 3 credits. Enrollment is restricted to faculty teaching in medicine and health care professions. Provides an overview of the major adult learning theories that are applicable to health professions education and explores how these form the basis for teaching and learning in medicine. Examines behavioral, cognitive, social, experiential and transformative learning orientations for relevance in health professions education. Emphasis is on how knowledge is constructed and organized in the development of expertise.

ADLT 672. Instructional Strategies for Teaching in Health Professions. 3 Hours.

Semester course; 3 lecture hours (delivered online, face-to-face or hybrid). 3 credits. Enrollment is restricted to faculty teaching in medicine and health care professions. Designed to provide health professions educators with knowledge and skills practice in teaching effectively in large and small groups using discussion-based strategies, team-based learning, process-oriented guided inquiry learning and problem-based learning, as well as other active learning methods. Learners design and implement a small-group learning strategy appropriate for a health professions educational setting.

ADLT 673. Teaching as Scholarship in Health Professions Education. 3 Hours.

Semester course; 3 lecture hours (delivered online, face-to-face or hybrid). 3 credits. Enrollment is restricted to faculty teaching in medicine and health care professions. Orients the health professions educator to basic design principles for conducting research that contributes to the scholarship of teaching and learning in health professions education using qualitative, quantitative or mixed methods. Examines basic research paradigms, problem identification, question development, selection of methodology, IRB preparation and requirements for journal submission and publication.

ADLT 674. Performance Feedback and Simulation in the Medical Education Curriculum. 2 Hours.

Semester course; 2 lecture hours (delivered online, face-to-face or hybrid). 2 credits. Enrollment is restricted to faculty teaching in medicine and health care professions. Introduces medical educators to the use of simulated learning experiences in preparing health care professionals for patient care. The emphasis is on acquiring skills to develop and lead simulation exercises and on developing facilitation skills needed to provide effective feedback to debrief the activity. Requires hands-on observation and participation in simulation at the VCU Center for Human Simulation and Safety.

ADLT 675. Group and Team Facilitation for Medical Educators. 2 Hours.

Semester course; 2 lecture hours (delivered online, face-to-face or hybrid). 2 credits. Enrollment is restricted to faculty teaching in medicine and health care professions. An introduction to the nature of learning in groups and teams. The course explores basic issues fundamental to all groups such as leadership, goals, group member roles, stages of group and team development, issues in team performance and an understanding of how institutional culture shapes group behavior.

ADLT 676. Digital Media Technologies for Teaching in Medicine. 2 Hours.

Semester course; 2 lecture hours (delivered online, face-to-face or hybrid). 2 credits. Enrollment is restricted to faculty teaching in medicine and health care professions. Introduces digital media technologies to bring state-of-the art teaching and learning strategies into the medical education curriculum. Explores Web 2.0 tools including wikis, blogs, podcasts and other emerging media, as well as the evaluation of digital media technologies to support learning in the preclinical or clinical curriculum. Emphasis is on building student engagement and community through participatory strategies for learning.

ADLT 677. Reflective Practice in Medical Education. 2 Hours.

Semester course; 2 lecture hours (delivered online, face-to-face or hybrid). 2 credits. Enrollment is restricted to faculty teaching in medicine and health care professions. Introduces the concept of reflective practice for medical educators, including the educator's role in developing trainees as reflective practitioners and the role of reflection in one's own professional development. Includes the concept of narrative medicine as a reflective practice that enables a more holistic understanding of patients and their illnesses, with application for the education of medical professionals.

ADLT 688. Lifespan Issues for Adults with Learning and Behavioral Disabilities. 3 Hours.

Semester course; 3 lecture hours. 3 credits. Explores the literature, research, issues and best practices for the population of individuals with learning disabilities and behavior disorders (including ADHD) beyond the school-age years. Focus on disabilities as they are manifested in a variety of settings and contexts in which adults with learning and behavior disorders function. These include areas such as employment, post-secondary education, community, family and leisure. In addition, social-emotional functioning and daily living challenges will be interspersed in the course material. Course goal is to develop understanding and the skill of critical reflection about persons with learning disabilities and behavior disorders in their adult years.

ADLT 702. Seminal Readings in Adult Learning Literature. 3 Hours.

Semester course; 3 lecture hours. 3 credits. A seminal readings course to explore some of the prominent classics in adult learning literature. Designed for doctoral students in adult learning and other disciplines in which knowledge and understanding of the theoretical underpinnings of adult education is desirable as a foundation for effective pedagogy/andragogy. While prior participation in a master's-level adult learning theories class may be beneficial, it is not a prerequisite.